Automatic collator



4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 3, 1967 INVENTOR WALL) c. Hal-F ATTORNEY May 26, 1970 w. c. HOFF AUTOMATIC COLLATOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 5, 1967 INVENTOR WALL) C. HOFF FIG. 3

ATTORNEY May 26, 1970 w. c. HOFF 3,514,095

AUTOMATIC COLLATOR Filed Oct. 5, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR WALLX c. HOFF ATTORNEY May 26, 1970 w. c. HOFF 3,

AUTOMATIC common Filed Oct. 5, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

7 INVENTOR WALL) 6! HOFF ATTORNEY United States Patent Oflice 3,514,095 Patented May 26, 1970 3,514,095 AUTOMATIC COLLATOR Wally Charles Hoff, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, assignor to General Binding Corporation (Canada) Limited, a

corporation of Canada Filed Oct. 3, 1967, Ser. No. 672,486 Int. Cl. B65h 39/04 U.S. Cl. 270-58 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This specification discloses a machine for collating stacks of sheet material such as paper in which the stacks of paper are placed in separate bins and a single sheet is fed from each bin simultaneously, and is thereafter drawn from each sheet by a pad mechanically driven across the upper edges of the stacks so as to pick up each sheet in sequence, one after the other and form them into a bundle of sheets in the correct order. The portion of the machine performing the sheet-gathering function is made movable relative to the portion of the machine containing the stacks of paper in order to simplify operator handling, and refilling of stacks of sheet material, adjustment, rectifying misfeeds and the like.

The invention relates to collators for paper and other sheet material in which single sheets are collected from separate paper stacks and assembled together for subsequent inclusion in booklets and the like, which is capable of continuous high speed automatic operation.

High speed automatic collators are available of many different designs which will perform collating operations of this type satisfactorily. However, the capital cost of such machines is very great, and the adjustments required to be made in the machine require, in many cases, the assistance of a trained, skilled operator. As a result, such machines tend to be found only in large printing and publishing companies. Accordingly, their sales are somewhat restricted. In addition, some such collators are liable to occasional misfeeding with the result that in some of the assembled bundles of sheets, one page or more is missing or in some cases two of the same pages are accidently included. As a result, it is necessary for tedious and time consuming checking operations to be conducted after completion of the collating operation, which tends to offset the economic advantage by the use of such a high speed and costly machine.

In an effort to obtain wider distribution of collators, various forms of manual collators have been devised, such as are disclosed in British Letters Patent 793,643, dated Apr. 23, 1958 to Kemp, U.S. Letters Patent 3,193,- 278, Ulberg and my US. Letters Patent 3,146,473 and 3,269,719. However, in these manual machines, various limitations are apparent. For example, the need for a manual collecting operation in each cycle, considerably reduces the speed of operation. In addition, the fact that a manual collecting operation is required, limits the practical size of such a manual machine so that no more than about twelve separate stacks of paper can be collated at any one time.

Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a high speed automatic collator in which a large number of stacks of paper may be collated at any one time, and in which the stacks of paper may be readily interchanged or varied with regard to size and also to thickness without requiring intricate adjustments of the apparatus, and which is of simple, rugged, economical construction as compared to prior art automatic collators.

More particularly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide apparatus having the foregoing advantages in which the stacks of paper are arranged in individual bins horizontally at a convenient level, and in which the means for collating individual sheets from the stacks is contained in a removable assembly, in order to permit free access to the bins.

More particularly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide apparatus having the foregoing advantages in which the adjustment and spacing of the automatic collecting mechanism may be preset and sealed in the factory, and in which each bin for receiving the stacks of paper incorporates a simple adjustment means for compensating for variations in the dimensions of the paper.

More particularly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide apparatus as having the foregoing advantages in which the individual sheets of paper are collected together in a predetermined required order or sequence, thereby facilitating checking of each assembled group or bundle after the collating operation is completed.

The foregoing and other advantages will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention which is here given by way of example only with reference to the following drawings in which like reference devices refer to like parts throughout the various view and diagrams and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective illustration of an automatic collator according to the invention with part of the housing cut away to reveal the construction, and partially shown in phantom form;

FIG. 2 is a sectional side elevation, partially cut away for clarity, along the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional side elevation, corresponding to the view of FIG. 2, along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1, showing the collecting portion of the apparatus swung away from the paper containing bins;

FIG. 4 is a perspective illustration of the shoe incorporated in the collecting portion of the apparatus, partially cut away to reveal its construction;

FIG. 5 is a perspective illustration of one of the track way assemblies enlarged for the sake of clarity;

FIG. 6 is a perspective illustration of one of the bins for containing the stacks of paper;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged side elevational view showing the operation of the collecting portion of the apparatus;

FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of a bin, greatly en larged; and,

FIG. 9 is a sectional side elevation along the line 9--9 of FIG. 8.

Referring now to FIG. 1 it will be seen that the apparatus according to the invention comprises a fixed lower portion indicated by the reference letter F containing the various stacks of sheet paper and the apparatus for feeding individual sheets from the stacks upwardly, and the upper movable portion indicated by the reference M, containing the mechanism for collecting the individual sheets fed upwardly from the stacks, and delivering them in a bundle at one end of the machine.

Dealing first with the lower fixed portion of the machine will be seen to comprise a cabinet or housing portion 10 having feet 11, and supporting a row of removable trays or bins 12 (shown in more detail in FIG. 6). The trays 12 are adapted to receive stacks of sheet paper material of various sizes and for this purpose are provided with a lower supporting plate 13 of generally L-shaped section adjustably fastened to tray 12 by means of bolt 14, provided with a Wing nut or other readily adjustable means (not shown) and fastening through a vertical slot 15 formed in tray 12 permitting same to be adjusted vertically. In order to guide the paper out of the trays 12, guide plates 16, also of L-shaped section, are attached to tray 12 by means of bolts 17 fastening through slot 18. In this way, the height and also the alignment of a stack of paper may readily be adjusted on each of trays 12 to 3 achieve the most efficient position for operation of the feed mechanism.

Individual paper sheets are fed from trays 12 by means of feed arm 19 operated by any suitable mechanism such as that disclosed in my US. Letters Patent 3,146,473 and 3,269,719. It will be understood that the mechanism for operating feed arm 19 can also embody other variations such as are disclosed in patent art in this field, other examples of which have been referred to above. Lower bracket 13 of tray 12 is preferably provided with a recess 20 for receiving arms 19 therein.

In order to support trays 12 removably in position, flange 21 is provided along the lower edge thereof substantially at right angles thereto, for engagement with supporting means (not shown) located within housing and being substantially similar to the means disclosed in my granted patents referred to. In most cases, single sheets of paper will feed satisfactorily from a stack of sheets located in tray 12, however, in the case of some papers, or the case of papers carrying minute electrostatic charges, some form of sheet separating means are desirable, in order to ensure that only one sheet at a time feeds from the stack. One form of particularly effective sheet separating means is shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 and comprises the freely movable arm 22 loosely attached to guide member 16 on tray 12 by means of button 23 fastened to pin 24 which passes loosely through slot 25 thereby permitting arm 22 to slide relative to tray 12 and also to swing toward and away therefrom thereby to accommodate differences in thickness of a stack of paper thereon and also differences in adjustment of the location of the upper edge thereof. Attached to bracket 22, are two pins 26 and 27, pin 26 being oriented to extend normally to bracket 22 and overlie the surface of the uppermost sheet of a stack of paper, and pin 27 being angled at roughly 45 to bracket 22 to overlie the corner of the stack and having a downwardly bent end 27a lying against the upper edges of the sheets in the stack.

As stated above, the lower fixed portion F of the mechanism, described above, provides the means whereby a series of stacks of paper or other sheet material may be arranged in trays or bins, and, upon operation of the mechanism, may be fed upwardly, a single sheet at a time from each tray. The upper movable portion M of the mechanism performs the function of collecting the individual sheets from the trays and delivering them in correct order in a bundle at one end of the machine.

For this purpose, the mechanism M is rendered movable (as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3) in the sense that it is hingably attached to the lower portion F and may be swung away therefrom so as to permit free access to the trays 12 for replenishing the same with paper. For this purpose, the mechanism M is mounted on two legs 30, preferably at their lower ends with height adjustment means such as threaded screw 31 and nut 32, and swingably connected by means of trunnion bearing 33 to the lower edge of housing 10. Chain 34 provides means of checking the swinging of movable portion M at a predetermined distance.

In order to assist in the feeding of the sheets of paper from trays 12, a series of roller members 35 are provided, attached to a common mounting bar 36 fastened to legs 30. The construction of roller members 35 is shown in more detail in FIG. 5 and will be seen to comprise the relatively massive supporting rod 37 threaded at 38 to fasten securely to bar 36. Roller 39 preferably formed of synthetic plastic material having high resistance to wear and being self lubricating, such as, nylon trademark of Du Pont Chemical Inc. Roller 39 is secured on rod 37 by means of collar 40 secured to rod 37 on either side thereof by screws 41. Feed plates 42 are attached to collar 40, also by means of screws 41, passing through extension strips 43 thereof. Plates 42 are preferably arranged in substantially horizontal alignment with one another and approximately tangent to the surface of rollers 39 whereby to provide continuous support for sheets of paper while at the same time being capable of withstanding substantial pressure.

Housing 44 is attached to the upper end of legs 30 and supports the mechanism for collecting the individual sheets of paper extending upwardly from trays 12, and comprises a pair of deflector bars 45 adjustably supported by slotted bracket 46 and bolts 47 for vertical adjustment towards and away from roller members 35 for the purpose of obstructing upward movement of individual sheets of paper and deflecting them rearwardly over roller mem-- bers 35. The paper sheets are collected by means of a frictional pressure pad generally indicated as 48 (described in more detail in connection with FIG. 4) mounted on an endless track comprising support rails 49 and drawn therearound by endless belt 50. Belt 50 itself runs around pulley members 51 supported by axle 52 at opposite ends of rails 49, one of pulleys 51 being driven by means of electric motor 53. Pressure member 48 is shown in more detail in FIG. 4 and will be seen to com prise the metal support frame or shoe 54 provided with four grooved wheels or rollers 55 spaced apart a predetermined distance equal to the spacing of rail 49 to permit the same to ride thereon. Belt 50 is attached to singular shoe 54 by means of the U-shaped bracket member 56 and screw 57. A resilient frictional pad 58 is attached at both ends to shoe 54 by means of plate 59 and screws 60. Pad 58 is stretched around a substantially fiat sheet metal form 61 having upturned ends 62 at each end thereof to permit pad 58 to adopt a rounded configuration. Form 61 is movably attached to shoe 54 by means of four studs 63 which pass through shoe 54 and are adjustably fastened by nuts 64, the other ends of studs 63 being attached to the upper surface of form 61. Springs 65 are located around studs 63 to maintain shoe 54 and form 61 spaced apart from one another, and compressible pads 66 of foam plastic material are also provided between shoe 54 and form 61 to reduce vibration therebetween.

In order to provide for automatic motorized operation of the collating apparatus, it is necessary to provide means for operating the mechanism within the housing 10 for moving single sheets of paper from the stack in timed cyclical sequence with the operation of friction member 48. Since both the paper sheet raising mechanism in housing 10 (not shown) and also the movement of friction member 48 are both achieved by electrical power, such sequential operation is readily achieved by the use of these switches 67, 68, and 69, and a manually operable control panel having an on/off switch 70, a selector switch 71 and two push-button contact breakers 72 and 73. A switch actuator plate 74 is attached to shoe 54 for contacting switches 67, 68, and 69 to operate the same, as shoe 54 moves around rails 49. The electrical circuit, including relays, by means of which the timed cyclical operation is achieved, is not of significance to the present invention, and will be readily worked out by the person skilled in the art. However, it is noteworthy that switch 69 is the switch which controls the commencement of the operation of the paper feed mechanism, within housing 10, which mechanism requires a time cycle which is long relative to the cycle of movement of frictional pad 48. As a result, it is necessary that the operation of such feed mechanism be commenced as early as possible, in order that the pad 48 may be run at the highest possible speed. To enable this to be achieved, switch 69 is adjustably mounted on the lower part of one of rails 49 in order that the operation of any particular machine may be timed with the greatest accuracy so as to achieve high speed operation. Such adjustment may be provided by a series of bolt holes formed in rail 49 or, for example, a slotted opening (not shown) by means of which switch 69 may be adjustably secured at any appropriate location.

In operation, the operator of the machine will first of all swing the movable portion M to one side as shown in FIG. 3, thus exposing the bins 12. Bins 12 will then be loaded with stacks of paper, support 13 and side members 16 being suitably adjusted so as to center the paper with respect to the bins and to locate the upper edges of the paper stacks so that they lie just below rollers 39.

The movable portion M is then swung back to the vertical position as shown in FIG. 2 and the machine may be switched on and operated manually by the selection of the appropriate circuits by means of switches 70 and 72. During the initial manual operation, the operator will check to see that the uppermost sheet of paper p in each stack moves upwardly from the stack without binding on the other sheets in the stack and that it passes over the front edge of roller 39 and strikes the underside of deflector bars 45 so that it is bent slightly backwardly. Defiector bars 45 are made adjustable by means of supports 46 and bolts 47 so that the spacing between them and rollers 39 can be adjusted to insure the correct degree of deflection of the paper without causing actual bending or damage to the sheets which might be a cause of misfeeding.

The machine is then ready for continuous operation, and during each cycle the friction pad 48 passes once completely around rails 49, being driven by motor 53 through pulley wheel 50 and belt 51. The manner in which the pad 48 picks up the individual sheets of paper is shown in FIG. 7. The foam plastic portion 58 presses against the first sheet of paper p and draws it completely out of its bin 12 and moves it rearwardly so that it overlies the next sheet of paper 17 extending upwardly out of the next bin 12. In this way, a single sheet of paper p is drawn from each of the bins 12 in sequence and will be delivered at the delivery end of the machine at metal chute 75 as a single bundle of sheets in the same order as that in which they are arranged in bins 12.

Each time friction pad 48 passes switch 69 it will actuate the same causing the initiation of a new cycle of movement of the mechanism moving fingers 19, as a result of which new sheets of paper p will begin being moved upwardly at just about the time when pad 48 has passed the last bin 12. In this way, the paper-moving machinery in fixed portion F of the apparatus (not shown) will have the maximum amount of time for completion of its cycle before pad 48 again begins to move along the top of bins 12. Switches 67 and 68 merely function to assist in stopping and starting pad 48 when manual operation of the machine is selected rather than automatic.

Referring now to FIGS. 8 and 9, these figures illustrate the function of the corner separating members 26, 27 and 27a. As finger 19 pushes upwardly, pushing the uppermost sheet I in the pad, there may be a tendency, due to a small static electrical charge, for the sheets to stick together, with a result that in some cases two or three sheets may be fed simultaneously, thereby causing a misfeed. To overcome this, member 26 is arranged to overlie the surface of the uppermost sheet p and press gently on it, and member 27 and end portion 27a overlie the upper edge of the stack of paper. As the uppermost sheet p is pushed by finger 19, any tendency for the next sheet down to stick to it will be overcome by the opposition of member 27a, causing the uppermost sheet p to curl upwardly at the upper left hand corner substantially as shown. The uppermost sheet p is released from the grip of member 27a by the cooperation of member 26 which limits the extent of such curling to the upper marginal area of the sheet p only, thereby causing the sheet p to flex to a substantial degree and to snap out of the grip of member 27a and move smoothly upwardly. Members 26 and 27 are formed of wire material as stated, and are movably supported on support bracket 22 which is itself slidably and movably attached to the guide member 16' so that it may be conveniently arranged at the upper corner of a stack of paper of varying thickness and height.

It will be understood that the feature of the invention in which the moveable portion M of the machine comprises both the set of roller members 35 and the sheetgathering means comprising the friction member 48 and the track way 49, is of substantial significance in achieving the objectives of the invention. Since the trays 12 are formed of sheet metal, they are subject to minor errors in formation, and may in some cases lie at slightly different angles, depending upon the weight of paper contained therein and the like. It is attempted to attach the roller members 39 to the upper edges of the trays, as in some earlier forms of collator, the pressure of friction member 48 upon those rollers would tend to vary, due to variations in the orientation of the trays. By providing the roller members 39 on a support which is entirely independent of the trays 12, the roller members 39 may be set at precisely the right orientation for interaction with the friction member 48, and the pressure which friction member 48 applies to the paper in order to ensure consistent and accurate frictional pick-up of each sheet, may be increased substantially above that which could be applied when the rollers are attached to the trays themselves, thereby ensuring much greater reliability and accuracy of operation than was possible in the past.

The foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of the invention is here given by way of example only. It is not intended that the invention shall be limited to any of the specific features as shown but comprehend all such variations as come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. Collating apparatus for stacks of sheet material such as paper and the like wherein said stacks of material are supported in trays spaced apart from one another arranged on a mounting along a usually horizontal axis, and wherein individual sheets are pushed upwardly from each of the stacks contained in the trays simultaneously, said apparatus including;

roller members for each of said trays supported on spaced apart parallel axes independently of said trays adjacent the upper edges thereof in a predetermined paper gathering plane for guiding individual sheets extending upwardly from said trays;

track means supported and spaced above said roller member to define a substantial spacing therebetween and extending along an axis normal to the axis of said roller member;

stationary deflector means mounted between said roller members and said track means and spaced above said roller members for engaging said individual sheets of paper moving upwardly from said trays and deflecting same over said roller members;

a frame unit upon which said roller members and said track means are mounted, said frame unit being movably connected to said tray mounting for movement between an operating position in which said roller members are located adjacent to said trays, and a nonoperating position in which said roller members are moved away from said trays thereby permitting access to said trays;

a sheet gathering pad defining a friction surface for engagement of one of said sheets of paper, said pad being movably mounted on said track means in the spacing between said track means and said roller members for movement along said track means axis, transversely of said roller members; and,

drive means driving said gathering pad along said track means for sequentially gathering said sheets extending upwardly from said trays.

2. Collating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, including a supporting rod means secured to said frame unit for each of said roller members and wherein said roller members comprise roller means supported on said rod means having an outer surface, and associated plate members secured to said rod means and adapted to be arranged in a horizontal plane approximately tangent to said surface of said roller means, providing a smooth pathway along which said paper sheets may pass.

3. Collating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said track means comprise plate members having substantially straight upper and lower edges, and ends which are rounded to define an endless track, said place members being arranged on edge side by side with one another.

4. Collating apparatus as claimed in claim :1, wherein said gathering pad includes a body portion, and wheel means on said body portion for engaging said track means.

5. Collating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said gathering pad includes a body portion, a pressure plate member spaced from said body, and resilient yieldable means arranged between said pressure plate member and said body, said friction surface being supported by said pressure plate member, and said pressure plate member being movable towards said body when pressed against said roller members.

6. Collating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, including belt means connected to said gathering pad and said drive means for drawing the gathering pad along said track means.

7. Collating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, including a guide member attached to each of said trays and adapted to guide said sheets of paper out of said trays sheet separating members attached to said trays, comprising, a pressure member oriented to overlie the uppermost sheet in a stack of paper lying in said tray, and an abutment member oriented to extend around the upper edges of said sheets in said stacks, and, adjustable support means for said pressure member and said abutment member movably attached to said guide member permitting the same to rest on 'a said stack of paper in said tray under the influence of gravity and being movable to conform to the size of said stack.

8. Collating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said trays are arranged and oriented in said tray mounting at a predetermined height, and including adjustable support means on said trays orienting and locating stacks of paper lying thereon.

9. Collating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, including electrical drive means driving said gathering pad along said track means, and at least two switch members mounted on said track means, oriented for operation by said gathering pad as the same moves along said track means for controlling the operation of said drive means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,173,680 3/1965 Dezoppy 27058 3,208,745 9/1965 March 27058 3,323,791 6/1967 Thomas 27058 LAWRENCE CHARLES, Primary Examiner 

